


Stand By Me

by CinderWildcat



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alcoholism, Budding gay romance, Gang Violence, M/M, Scenes/mentions of homophobia (no slurs), Scenes/mentions of racism (no slurs), Teen Romance, Teen Smoking, Teen gang violence, Underage Drinking, domestic abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:48:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21633928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CinderWildcat/pseuds/CinderWildcat
Summary: Sick of his deteriorating home life, fourteen year old Frederick Arthur has decided to strike out on his own and join a gang. He expected a lot of things - tough initiations, beatings, getting horribly rejected - but the last thing he was expecting was to find a good friend... and maybe even a partner.
Relationships: Frederick Arthur/Wookie
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4
Collections: The Not-Asheiji Bang 2019





	Stand By Me

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a part of the NonAshEiji Bang event! Due to work and studying, I wasn't able to meet the word count, so this will be and ongoing series once I get more time to focus on it (so if this chapter seems a tad slow, that's unfortunately why).
> 
> The time period is ambiguous, but in my head I feel like this is set in the 1980's a la the Banana Fish manga.
> 
> Also, for clarification, Andrew is my HC name for Wookie, and of course Frederick refers to Arthur.

“I want to join.”

A dozen faces turned to stare at the gangly young blonde boy standing defiantly in front of them. He stood with his hands shoved into his pockets, back ramrod straight and chest puffed, giving off an air of confidence that did not match his scrappy appearance, his lanky limbs and broad shoulders he was only just starting to grow into.

Frederick knew full well what he looked like – some poor, overconfident greasy little squirt trying to hold his ground against kids twice his size and twice as experienced. He could see several guys in the groups crossing their arms or flexing their muscles to try and intimidate him. But Frederick had seen guys like this before, he’d dealt with them all his life – without the tattoos and scars, they were the same towering, simple meatheads who’d nearly run him over in the halls at school, or who’d come in and out of his life with no warning or impact after another one of his mother’s failed romances. Putting them in that context made it slightly easier for Frederick to glare back at them.

But only slightly.

The tallest boy in front, the leader, grinned at Frederick and raised an eyebrow, the cigarette stuck firmly between his crooked, yellowing teeth. He was broad shouldered, barrelled-chested, and a towering 6’3” – a pit bull staring down a scrawny, growling mutt.

“Really now,” he said, plucking the cigarette from his mouth and letting out a large burst of smoke. The guys behind him chuckled, some of them cracking their knuckles, ready on the order to pounce. “You know you’re probably the most confident little fucker I’ve seen in the last few years.”

“You say that like I should be scared.”

More chuckles from the back. Todd shuffled closer, never breaking eye contact, until he stood toe-to-toe with Frederick. The stink of tobacco and body odour, combined with Todd’s towering stature only inches from his, nearly caused Frederick to stumble backwards, but he held is ground, trying to keep his now shaking limbs under control. Todd’s eyes combed over him, eagerly looking for a sign of weakness.

“Guess I’ll have to try a little harder then, eh?”

Frederick stared him down without a word, his hands gripping each other behind his back to quell the shaking. Todd nodded, seemingly unphased by the silence. “Well, if you want to join, you’ll have to go through some kind of test.”

“Obviously.”

“Hey now, don’t get too smart!” Todd smiled and kept his tone playful, but Frederick could see his body tense up slightly. Two guys behind Todd shuffled forward in anticipation of a fight. Todd leaned forward closer, his smoky breath nearly suffocating Frederick. “If we don’t like your attitude, you got no chance, kid.”

A moment of silence passed. The two locked eyes, daring the other to speak next, to make the next move. Finally, Frederick dropped his gaze, glaring down at his scuffed sneakers. He felt a sweaty, calloused paw ruffle his hair in mock-playfulness. Frederick’s body scrunched up and leaned away in surprise and disgust as Todd recoiled and laughed again.

“Good boy!” cried Todd. After more raucous laughter rippled through the crowded alley, Todd backed off, smiling down at the shaky boy before him.

“So why exactly do you want to join. You’re like, thirteen, right? I don’t normally accept little twerps like you into our group--.”

“I’m fourteen,” blurted Frederick.

“Oh-ho-ho! Fourteen, sooo mature!”

Frederick’s face felt so hot from his blush he thought he was going to catch on fire. He glared back up at Todd, at everyone in front of him. He could see some of the guys weren’t nearly as built as their leader – some were pretty lanky and young looking, like him. They stood near the back of the group, peering behind Todd’s apparent lackeys, studying him curiously and flinching every time someone in front of them moved an inch. More disgust rose within Frederick. _Don’t accept young twerps my ass,_ he thought.

He was dragged away from his thoughts by the sound of crunching gravel behind him.

“I’d like to join as well.”

Todd looked over Frederick and immediately rolled his eyes. Laughter rippled through the crowd as everyone turned to the other newcomer.

Now it was Frederick’s turn to sneer and judge.

Another boy had snuck up behind him, this time not exuding the air of confidence he did but trying to make up for it by putting on a stern expression – which Frederick noted contrasted quite interestingly with the boy’s obviously shaking legs. Of all the kids here, Frederick included, he was by far the most presentable – a clean plum coloured polo shirt and grey jeans, with impeccably clean black sneakers. He just screamed “runaway rich kid.” Frederick felt a sense of superiority and confidence spike in him. If there was going to be a competition between them for membership, he had this in the bag.

The new boy glanced between the crowd and Frederick, eyes lingering on the latter. Frederick caught his curious stare and glared back, satisfied at the blush that erupted on the other boy’s face as he averted his gaze.

Todd’s amused expression was gone, replaced with annoyance now. He rolled his eyes and looked away bored. “And what’s your name kid?”

“A-Andrew,” he sputtered. His stern gaze faltered as the boy seemed to realize he wasn’t making the best impression.

“You gonna stutter like that the whole time kid, ‘cause that shit’s gonna get old real fast.” He gestured in Frederick’s direction with his cigarette. “Freddy over here barely even flinched! If you don’t got the balls, get the fuck outta here. Don’t waste my time!”

“No!” Everyone, aside from Todd, looked at the newcomer with surprise. “I came here to join and I’m not leaving until you chuck me out into the streets. And even then, I’m gonna come crawling right back here.” He looked up and stared Todd dead in the eyes. “If you want me gone, kill me. Otherwise you’re stuck with me.”

Todd exchanged a bored glance with two goons next to him before his gaze slowly turned towards Frederick glaring back at them and Andrew looking defiant despite an obvious sweat sheen on his forehead. Wordlessly, Todd gestured for a huddle near the back of the alley, and his crew quickly obliged.

The suffocating feeling of intimidation and fear was swept away with the glares of the gang, and replaced with an even more uncomfortable feeling of awkwardness. Both boys stole glances and silently judged one another.

_This fool looks like he hasn’t showered in a week… I bet he_ smells _like it to._

_Fuckin prep. The hell’s he even doin’ here? Probably hasn’t done any kind of hard work in his life._

_His hair does look surprisingly soft though… for someone lookin’ so damn gross._

_Actually it looks like he’s gettin decent muscle on his arms...._

Both caught each other’s stares, their breaths caught as their eyes locked. Andrew was struck by Frederick’s turquoise eyes, Frederick surprised by how warm and bright Andrew’s honey brown eyes were.

The sound of boots scuffing against the ground forced them both to turn towards Todd and his approaching gang. To their surprise, Todd came back looking confident. Neither were sure what to make of this.

“So, my boys and I had a little chat,” Todd said, flicking his cigarette onto the ground. “We’ve decided, hey, what the hell, two new members would be good for us!” The snickers from the other guys made Andrew’s stomach churn. Todd stomped on the flickering remains of his cigarette. “And you know what, since you two are so young, we’ll make it real easy for ya? How’s that sound.?”

It took every bit of strength in Frederick’s body not to snap back at Todd’s patronizing tone. He grit his teeth and grinned, hoping it looked genuine. “Sounds good, man.”

“Whadya say, Harlem boy?”

Andrew’s nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. But he too smiled in weak acceptance. “I’m in!”

Both jumped as Todd clapped his hands together. “Fantastic! Alright, follow me, I’ll give you the instructions.”

Andrew and Frederick stuck close to one another as they followed Todd down towards the gang hideout, a dingy bar in the basement of a battered, miserable looking building, with boarded up windows on the upper floors and broken windows near the ground floor. Illegible vandalism was scrawled over the faded red brick walls, and covered nearly the entirety of the heavy, dented steel door that awaited them at the bottom of the creaky stairs.

As they entered the doorway, the smell of smoke mixed with aftershave poorly covering body odour hit them like a wall. Andrew nearly went into a coughing fit, trying to choke it back to not look like a wimp. 

“You okay?” asked Frederick softly as Andrew’s eyes began to water. Andrew replied with a silent nod, feeling his face grow warm.

Todd lead them through the large, clammy basement bar, with scuffed, faded wood floors and an old pool table with felt worn away in several spots. The fluorescent lights flickered ominously and cast a harsh, cold light over the area. An old jukebox that probably didn’t work anymore sat covered in dust at the far left end of the bar. Across the way, mounted on the wall was an old tv, a layer of dust clearly covering the screen. The concrete walls were covered in American flags and pinup and band posters, presumably to hide any cracks and holes. It was like walking into someone’s refurbished basement instead of an actual bar, and it made both Frederick and Andrew feel even more uncomfortable.

“Wait here,” said Todd, striding over to the bar and reaching over to grab a pad of paper and a pen. Both Andrew and Frederick waited patiently, nervously glancing at one another and the door. Frederick could feel his body tense up, like in gym class when he had to run the mile. The door certainly felt like it was a mile away now.

Frederick flinched as he felt a sharp pain in his side. Glaring to his right, he realized it was Andrew, elbowing him and nodding his head towards Todd, who was now approaching them with a note in hand.

“Alright kids,” said Todd. He grabbed Andrew’s hand and slapped onto it a small sticky note with a barely-legible address. “See this? This is the address. Task is simple enough, shouldn’t be too hard to fuck it up. Just grab us what we need here and get out without getting caught. Tonight. You do that, you got one more step to go before fully joining. Sound good?”

Silently, both boys nodded. Todd smiled, his smile turning into a grin, showing off his sharp, yellow teeth.

“Good. Now get out.”

“Don’t know why the hell they got us doing their chores for them,” he grumbled.

“I thought something like this was pretty standard for gangs?”

Frederick rolled his eyes. “Yeah but I thought it’d be something way cooler than robbing a fuckin liquor store, y’know?” He glanced back at his new preppy companion. “And why the hell did they make me go with you?”

Andrew’s eyes widened in offence before narrowing. “Just ‘cause I don’t look fuckin’ homeless like you doesn’t mean I ain’t tough!”

“Well _excuse me_ for bein’ poor alright?!”

Andrew turned his head away from Frederick with a huff, while Frederick continued to glare. His eyes looked over the crisp clothes, the thin rimmed sunglasses, the neatly trimmed haircut hidden behind his old-fashioned hat. Frederick didn’t know why, but he kept staring long after it was necessary, until he caught Andrew glance at him tentatively.

“Have you ever uh…” Andrew trailed off, pushing the rim of his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. Confusion held Frederick as he felt himself blushing at a sight he thought was almost… cute.

“Hey!”

“Huh? Wha?”

“Tch. Dumbass.” Andrew turned his head away again, this time hiding a very obvious blush. “I asked if you’ve ever done this before!”

“What, hit up a liquor store? Yeah.” Frederick scoffed and smiled. “Of course. Yeah!"

“Really?” After looking around, Andrew leaned in closer to Frederick. The sudden shared warmth between them was startling to Frederick, and initially he pulled away like he’d been shocked. But the warmth was oddly comforting. Too nice to turn down. It had been a while since he had someone that close to him before that wasn’t a bully or some drunkie boyfriend his mom brought home.

And Andrew’s eyes… they were so bright and full or curiosity. Frederick had been around and dealt with so many dead-eyed kids his age, all cynical beyond their years and full of spite and bitterness and carelessness – kids like him. Anyone like Andrew, they kept themselves at arms length from Frederick and his kind of crowd, and for the most part Frederick brushed them off as pretentious wimps who just didn’t and couldn’t understand his life. Now here he was face to face with someone who seemed to be at the crossroads of both lives, some suburban dweller dipping his toe into a life of crime, and Frederick couldn’t find it in him to hate him too much. Especially when he looked up at him with expectant eyes like that. Feeling a sense of pride rise in him, he puffed up his chest and grinned.

“Hell yeah,” he said in his most confident voice. “Done it a few times. Got away with it like it was nothin’!” It wasn’t exactly a lie - he stole a bottle of Jack for himself once - but he did it on a whim, panicking internally the entire time. 

Andrew didn’t seem to pick up on Frederick’s lie and pressed him for more details. 

“So….how’d you do it? What’s the game plan here? I distract him?”

“Why’d it be you distracting them--?”

“I can’t get caught by cops,” Andrew said in a low, serious tone. Frederick sighed, biting his tongue to keep a snarky response at bay.

“Sure, you distract them, _I_ grab what they need. Simple enough, just-- for the love of god don’t be too obvious about it, alright?”

Andrew smiled slyly and tipped his hat to Frederick. “Gotcha.”

It was such a silly, cute gesture that Frederick had to chuckle softly.

The rest of the walk was short but silent, Frederick keeping his head turned away to avoid his blush, and Andrew whistling and oddly familiar tune.

“Hold up.”

“Yeah?”

“You whistlin’ the Star Wars theme?”

For a moment Andrew looked panicked, averting his eyes. “Uh… y-yeah. I was.”

Frederick simply laughed, gently nudging his companion. “Nerd,” he said softly.


End file.
